Viktor Hovland won the BMW Championship with one of the best-ever performances in the final round of a PGA TOUR event.
The 25-year-old Norwegian carded seven birdies on the back nine on his way to a course record 61 and a 17-under-par winning total. It was the lowest score in the history of the FedExCup Playoffs and good enough to see him beat third round leaders Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick by two shots.
Hovland had started the final round three shots behind Scheffler and Fitzpatrick, and it seemed likely to remain a battle between the two Major winners for some time. However, the Norwegian then put on a masterclass in ball striking, birdieing every hole bar the two par 3s on the difficult back nine of the North Course at Olympia Fields in Chicago to reel in the leaders and then pull away.
“To win the BMW Championship at a course like Olympia Fields, and against the world’s best players, is a really incredible feeling,” said Hovland. “That has to be the best round I’ve ever played. Given the circumstances – a playoff event, this golf course – the way I played the back nine was pretty special.”
With Scheffler and Fitzpatrick tied second, Rory McIlroy finished a further three shots back in fourth, with Open champion Brian Harman and Max Homa a shot back in a tie for fifth.
Second place for world no.1 Scheffler was enough to keep his nose in front at the top of the FedExCup standings going into this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Hovland climbed to second, with McIlroy still third. Fitzpatrick jumped from 40th to tenth.
The BMW Championship is the penultimate FedExCup Playoff tournament at which just 30 of the 50 players who started the event in Chicago qualify for the season finale. The last three spots were secured by Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth and Sepp Straka.